Opposition to Mayor Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ expansion - the £12.50 daily charge on certain cars in Havering - continues to dominate my constituency postbag. While the Mayor has pledged new bus routes, locally this only consists of extending the 497 while canning the 346 and 347 routes. I have been working with local campaigners to respond to TfL’s bus consultation while exploring with government if any powers remain to stop the Mayor’s dreadful plan.
In happier news, I was thrilled that the Chancellor announced more childcare support in his recent Budget. It was something that I had campaigned for given how often the cost of nursery fees and after-school care is raised by families. The new support will be phased in so that nurseries and schools can get the staff and facilities in place but I hope it proves a real boon to working parents.
I welcomed final Treasury approval of the Thames Freeport, which will bring over £4.6 billion investment and 21 000 jobs to our region. Key to making the most of that investment will be the Lower Thames Crossing (LTC), the new bridge being built east of Dartford. I have been campaigning to create a vast green network of woods, cycleways and walking routes from Havering into Essex as compensation for the transport project, and visited Hole Farm, a huge new community woodland of up to 150 000 trees between Brentwood and Harold Wood being created by LTC. We are also getting investment in Upminster’s Thames Chase Community Forest plus potentially a new footbridge connecting Cranham's Moor Lane to Folkes Lane over the A127.
In response to recent worries about violent crime and cost of living pressures, I gathered local faith leaders to St George’s in Harold Hill to discuss how best to work together on their congregations’ concerns about housing, immigration, policing and local services. We were joined by the Met to discuss safety in local town centres. Shortly afterwards, I hosted a fantastic group of police officers in parliament to thank them for their heroic efforts to evacuate a Hornchurch care home that was ablaze last summer.
Finally, I visited Havering Sixth Form’s campus to learn about their plans to expand student facilities, offer new courses and develop partnerships with local employers. Alongside efforts to bolster their science offer, the College is developing a performing arts programme which will work in partnership with Queen’s Theatre on local productions.
